You can voice your concerns or submit a complaint if you are unhappy with the standard of service that you have received from the Council, or if you are unhappy with something the Council or a member of staff has done or has failed to do.
Difficulties can occur trying to investigate complaints retrospectively, so we expect customers to raise their complaint within 6 months (under Corporate Policy) or 12 months (under Social Services Policy) of becoming aware of the problem. Complaints received outside this timescale will not be investigated, unless exceptional circumstances can be demonstrated.
A complaint is not:
- the reporting of a fault, for example reporting a faulty street light. You can
report a faulty street light on our website
- an initial service request, for example requesting the removal of fly-tipping. You can
report fly-tipping on our website
- a first request for information, or an explanation of the Council’s policies or decisions
- a representation about the merits of the Council’s policy decisions
- a challenge for a ‘properly made decision’ for which there is a statutory right of appeal
- a mechanism for lobbying or a means to seek legislative change
For more information on complaints please
contact us.
If something does go wrong we need to be able to put it right quickly, and if possible, take action to ensure it doesn't happen again.
To make a complaint, you can:
Download a complaint form (262kb PDF) or pick one up from a council office or library. Once you’ve completed the form, please post it to:
Complaints and Compliments
County Hall
Atlantic Wharf
Cardiff
CF10 4UW
Contact your local Councillor
The Education Act 2002 requires that the governing bodies of all maintained schools in Wales, including nursery schools, to establish procedures for dealing with complaints from parents, pupils, staff, governors and members of the local community.
Each individual school has their own complaints procedure. You can find
contact details for Cardiff schools to request information about individual complaints procedures.
All Councillors at Cardiff Council are subject to a
Code of Conduct (120kb PDF)
Formal complaints that a Councillor may have breached this Code should be addressed to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. The Ombudsman’s web site contains explanations on the standards of behaviour expected by the Code and the basis on which the Ombudsman decides whether or not to investigate a complaint.
Examples of ways in which a councillor could breach their code of conduct include:
• behaving in a way that has a negative effect on the council’s reputation
• using their position unfairly to gain an advantage for themselves or someone else
• improper use of the council’s resources;
• failing to declare an interest;
• bullying behaviour;
• failing to treat everybody equally; and
• revealing confidential information about individuals without a good reason.
The Ombudsman will normally only investigate when there is evidence that a serious breach may have been committed.
If you feel that the Code may have been breached then you are able to complain to the Ombudsman online.
You can get more detailed information about this process on the
Ombudsman’s website
Local Resolution Protocol
The Council has also adopted a Local Resolution Protocol, in line with the recommendations of the Ombudsman, to deal with relatively ‘low level’ complaints made by another Member or Officer of Cardiff Council. Typically, these complaints will be about alleged failures to show respect and consideration for others as required by paragraph 4(b) of the Members’ Code of Conduct. Low level complaints made by members of the public about an alleged breach of the Code of Conduct by a councillor may also be dealt with under the Local Resolution Protocol if the Monitoring Officer agrees this is appropriate.
If you are unsure whether a matter you wish to complain about is ‘low-level’ or within the remit of the Local Resolution Protocol, you may wish to contact the Monitoring Officer (who may consult with the Ombudsman’s office). The Monitoring Officer may be contacted by email:
davina.fiore@cardiff.gov.uk
If we receive a complaint from you, we will do all that we can to help you, and will try to find a solution to any problems that you have brought to our attention.
We will respect your right to confidentiality and privacy, and will treat you fairly and in accordance with our commitment to equality.
If you are asking us for a service for the first time -such as reporting a faulty street light or a pothole - please give us the opportunity to put things right. If you are not happy with our response to your request and you let us know, we will then treat it as a complaint.
We will ensure that your complaint is sent to the relevant department(s) for a response, and will ask them to:
- acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days of the date that they receive it,
- aim to resolve your complaint within 20 working days,
- let you know within the 20 working day period if they think that it may take longer to investigate your complaint.
They will tell you how long they expect it to take and will provide regular updates.
You may contact the Ombudsman at any time, however the Ombudsman recommends that you give the Council an opportunity to deal with your complaint first.
The Public Services Ombudsman (Wales)
1 Ffordd yr Hen Gae,
Pencoed,
CF35 5LJ
Tel: 0300 790 0203 (calls to this number are charged at local call rate)
Fax: 01656 641199
Some service users will not accept a decision taken in relation to their concerns or may contact the Council persistently about the same issue. This can result in unreasonable demands on the Council or unacceptable behaviour towards Council staff. The actions of persistent service users can take a disproportionate amount of time and resources which can affect the Council’s ability to do its work and provide a service to others. It is accepted that some people may act out of character in times of trouble or distress.
However, the actions of service users who are angry, demanding or persistent are considered unacceptable and these actions may lead to contact with the Council being restricted. The
unacceptable actions by customers policy (517kb PDF) lists the actions that the Council regards as unacceptable.
If you would like to send us a compliment about a council employee, team or service, please complete the contact form on this page.
Our annual feedback reports detail the complaints and compliments received by the Council during the financial year.
You can view the Annual Feedback Reports for the last 2 years:
Annual Feedback report 2021 to 2022
Annual Feedback report 2020 to 2021Annual Feedback report 2019 to 2020